Metal-Fungus interaction: Review on cellular processes underlying heavy metal detoxification and synthesis of metal nanoparticles.

The most adverse outcome of increasing industrialization is contamination of the ecosystem with heavy metals. Toxic heavy metals possess a deleterious effect on all forms of biota; however, they affect the microbial system directly. These heavy metals form complexes with the microbial system by forming covalent and ionic bonds and affecting them at the cellular level and biochemical and molecular levels, ultimately leading to mutation affecting the microbial population.

Comprehensive phylogenomic analysis of ERF genes in sorghum provides clues to the evolution of gene functions and redundancy among gene family members.

APETALA2/Ethylene-Responsive transcription factors (AP2/ERF), with their multifunctional roles in plant development, hormone signaling and stress tolerance, are important candidates for engineering crop plants. Here, we report identification and analysis of gene structure, phylogenetic distribution, expression, chromosomal localization and -acting promoter analysis of AP2/ERF genes in the C4 crop plant sorghum. We identified 158 ERF genes in sorghum with 52 of them encoding dehydration-responsive binding elements (DREB) while 106 code for ERF subfamily proteins.

Heavy metal resistance in algae and its application for metal nanoparticle synthesis.

The ungenerous release of metals from different industrial, agricultural, and anthropogenic sources has resulted in heavy metal pollution. Metals with a density larger than 5 g cm have been termed as heavy metals and have been stated to be potentially toxic to human and animals. Algae are known to be pioneer organisms with the potential to grow under extreme conditions including heavy metal-polluted sites.